In addition to the ingredients that are indispensable for the washing process, such as surfactants and builder materials, detergents generally contain further components which may be combined under the term “washing aids,” and which include such different active substance groups as foam regulators, anti-redeposition agents, bleaching agents, bleach activators, and dye transfer inhibitors. These types of aids also include substances whose presence enhances the detergency of surfactants, without the need in general for these substances themselves to have surfactant behavior. This similarly applies to cleaning agents for hard surfaces. Such substances are often referred to as detergency enhancers.
Alkoxylated polyamines and their use in detergents and cleaning agents are known, for example, from International Patent applications WO 95/32272 A1 and WO 2006/108857 A1. Amphiphilic water-soluble alkoxylated polyamines having an internal polyoxyethylene block and an external polyoxypropylene block are known from International Patent application WO 2006/108856 A1.
It has surprisingly been found that alkoxylated polyamines have particularly good properties which enhance the primary detergency when they are combined with certain nonionic surfactants.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.